Website Provides 911 Call Information

The Meridian Police Department is no longer providing times and locations for crimes, but there is a website where they send the information. Crimereports.com lists all registered 911 calls for any location you search.

"Whenever our officers are sent to a call, that call is given a case number. Each case number, which consists of that call, is uploaded to crimereports.com," said Captain Dean Harper of the MPD. "People can go over to crimereports.com and see basically every call we're sent to on a daily basis."

That information is much different than what's listed in the media releases. Chief James Lee says here's a reason for that.

"This police department is in no way hiding information from the press," Chief Lee said. "We consider the press our partners. What we don't want to give is the wrong information to the press. We want to report the news exactly as it occurs. We're not trying to suppress information or hide information."

Since these are all calls the police respond to, that does not mean they are always real or verified. Captain Harper says that's the reason citizens shouldn't look at the website and panic at what appears to be an overwhelming amount of crime.

"The crimereports.com website shows a stolen vehicle on 45th Avenue," Captain Harper said. "Officers responded, but it turns out it was not a stolen vehicle. It was a repossessed vehicle. It still goes into the cad as a stolen vehicle. It still shows up on crimereports.com as a stolen vehicle."

Chief Lee says the department is not trying to hide anything by refusing to provide this information. It is part of an effort to curb crime.

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